Ka’u hit-and-run (update) 03-10-09

Media Release (update)

The Hawai’i Police Department is renewing its request for help from the public in identifying the driver in a hit-and-run crash in Ka’u.

Forty-three-year-old John Patrick Burns of Ocean View died from injuries he sustained in a motor vehicle/pedestrian crash on Hokulani Boulevard in the Hawaii Ocean View Ranchos subdivision sometime between 11:30 p.m., December 3, and 1:08 a.m., December 4.

Ka’u patrol officers determined that Burns was walking on Hokulani Boulevard when he was struck by an unknown vehicle. The driver then fled the scene.

A resident returning home found the pedestrian in the middle of the road.

Traffic Enforcement Unit officers are investigating the case as a negligent homicide and accident involving injury or death.

Police ask anyone with information about the driver or the vehicle involved in this case to call Officer Thomas Koyanagi at 326-4646, extension 229.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona. All Crime Stoppers calls are kept confidential.

Because this fatality occurred in a private subdivision, it was not counted toward the official fatality count.